Saint Holy Martyrs Marinus and Martha
of Rome.

The sources describe Marinus and Martha as wealthy Persians who converted to Christianity. The Prologue from Ochrid says they sold their property before travelling to Rome with their children. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes them as members of the Persian nobility.

Their sons, Audifax and Abbacum (Habakkuk), accompanied their parents on the journey. Accounts agree that the family shared a devotion to the tombs of the holy Apostles.

The family did not hold clerical office. Their ministry was one of practical charity, as they visited prisoners and helped the faithful who were under threat. They worked with the Roman Church, which was then led by Bishop Callistus in the accounts of the OCA.

Their charity extended to the dead as well as the living. The OCA life recounts that they recovered the body of Cyrinus from the Tiber and buried it in the earth.

The persecution intensified, and the family was arrested. Accounts describe how they were seized, delivered to the judge, and subjected to tortures they refused to escape by renouncing Christ. Marinus and his sons were beheaded on the Via Cornelia, and their bodies were burned.

Martha's death differs by source. The OCA life states she was drowned in a river, while the Catholic Encyclopedia records that she was cast into a well at Nymphae Catabassi, thirteen miles from Rome. Felicitas, a Roman woman, is said to have secured the remains and interred them in a catacomb.

The Orthodox Church commemorates the martyrs on July 6 together with the other Roman martyrs of this date, and the day is listed in OrthodoxWiki's calendar for July 6. The OCA also lists the group as a feast on its website.

In the West, the martyrs were included in the General Roman Calendar until 1969, when they were removed because little was certain about them beyond their names and burial. The Church of Santi Mario e Compagni Martiri in Rome bears their name.